Clickbait title for the actual article which is "I don't like the TG bot platform docs"
The other complaint is that the API doesn't use REST properly. Judging from the docs, it looks like a JSON interface for a SOAP API. It's not the most favoured technology but it's not the end of the world either. Besides, there are SDKs which abstract most of the complexity away, if necessary: https://core.telegram.org/bots/samples
I think that these gripes are insignificant compared to the main claim that the platform is dying. I'd advise to not make bold statements such as 'a token in the URL path is unconventional and prone to errors'. Is it prone to errors? As prone as putting it in a header or query param? I'd say that they're exactly the same.
'This is confusing, non-standard, and creates additional complexity'. Is it confusing and adding complexity? All you have to do is look down the list for what you want, it's hardly complex. It's not as if they're naming methods 'obtainChat', 'getUser', 'retrieveLogs', etc.
Which leaves the documentation on the website, which I find quite easy to follow. But let's say it is confusing and it's not as good as it should be. Does that mean the platform is dying? I didn't realise that designing an API to not use all HTTP verbs was such a big deal.
Whoever wrote that article never did programming it seems. Overall, nonsense article. I personally don't care much whether API is following or not following REST. Yes, that's nice but not the most important thing. What I do care about is good technical documentation and Telegam API is that. It is good and comprehensive.
Another point is that unlike many other services, they don't force you to use their library, but actually give enough details to implement API using any language and technology you want. Maybe this makes for a steeper learning curve. Either way, any seasoned programmer can figure this documentation out and use it.
3 comments
[ 57.9 ms ] story [ 907 ms ] threadThe other complaint is that the API doesn't use REST properly. Judging from the docs, it looks like a JSON interface for a SOAP API. It's not the most favoured technology but it's not the end of the world either. Besides, there are SDKs which abstract most of the complexity away, if necessary: https://core.telegram.org/bots/samples
'This is confusing, non-standard, and creates additional complexity'. Is it confusing and adding complexity? All you have to do is look down the list for what you want, it's hardly complex. It's not as if they're naming methods 'obtainChat', 'getUser', 'retrieveLogs', etc.
Which leaves the documentation on the website, which I find quite easy to follow. But let's say it is confusing and it's not as good as it should be. Does that mean the platform is dying? I didn't realise that designing an API to not use all HTTP verbs was such a big deal.